The conventional cosmetic products for skin massage include water-based gel formulations containing a large quantity of water-soluble polymers to impart a cool feeling to the skin, oil-based formulations containing oily ingredients thickened with an oil thickener to help cleansing makeup, and cream type formulations containing a high content of oil greater than 35 wt. % so that it can be used for massage through oil phase inversion and then wiped off or washed out with water.
A water-based massage gel provides a cool feeling to the skin due to high water content and a massage effect using the glide of polymers, consequently with a poor massage control relative to the oil-based formulations. The oil-based type is well spreadable on the skin to maximize stimulation of blood circulation and removal of makeup, but with a high oil content, it has a poor high-temperature stability that causes many limitations in its applications and provides an unpleasant feeling on the skin greasy during or after use and an inconvenience associated with a need for cleansing the skin. The most popular massage creams contain a large quantity of oil, about 30 to 50 wt. %, which provides a good massage feeling but poor formulation stability, causing a great change of properties pertaining to a change of temperature during the process, and leaves the skin greasy after use, requiring the user to wipe the excess cream with tissue paper and then rinse off with water.
The conventional massage formulations with high oil content provide a good massage control with an uncomfortable massage feeling and an inconvenience of cleansing the skin due to greasiness, but those with low oil content provide a cool feeling with a poor massage control. Many technical solutions have been suggested persistently to such problems with the conventional massage formulations.